1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information (i.e., data) recording and reproduction (i.e., retrieval) device, and in particular to an information recording and reproduction device that accomplishes information recording and reproduction relative to both lands and grooves provided on a recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, various techniques have been undertaken in order to improve the recording capacity of magnetooptical recording medium and the like. For example, proposals have been made to use a LAND/GROOVE (L/G) recording and reproduction format in which information is recorded and reproduced relative to both a land (i.e., a protruding part) and a groove (i.e., an indented part) provided in a concentric or spiral shape on the recording medium as an information track (recording region).
With this L/G recording and reproduction format, since the amount (i.e., the area) of the information track is doubled relative to the recording and reproduction format that accomplishes recording and reproduction relative to only one of the land or groove, the recording capacity can be doubled if the track pitch is kept the same.
When the L/G recording and reproduction format is applied to a magnetooptical recording medium, detection of the specified track position is accomplished, an optical beam of a specified power is illuminated on the land or groove corresponding to the recording and reproduction indication from the position-controlling device (e.g., a host computer), and then recording or reproducing of selected information relative to the information track is performed.
Recording sensitivities can differ between the land track and the groove track of a recording medium using the L/G format. Generally, with this type of recording and reproduction device, the power of the optical beam is changed based on the radial position of the track during recording. However, there is no change made to the recording conditions (e.g., the recording power) based on whether recording is taking place in the land track or in the groove track.
Furthermore, problems occur such that recording cannot be accomplished within appropriate conditions for recording media have recording sensitivities that differ between the land and the groove. Accordingly, there is the problem that recording or erasure may be incomplete. As a result, there are also obstacles to the reproduction operation. Furthermore, because of these factors, through the repetitive execution of recording, erasure, and reproduction operations, the operational speed is reduced, or there is the problem that there is an increase in the ratio of recording and reproduction errors.